Systems and methods for point of sale deposits

ABSTRACT

The disclosed embodiments include systems and methods for executing a point of sale deposit. In one embodiment, a system may include one or more memory devices storing software instructions, and one or more processors configured to execute the software instructions to receive deposit information related to a point of sale deposit from a mobile device, and generate a deposit token retaining at least the deposit information and deposit authorization information. The one or more processors may also be configured to transmit the deposit token to the mobile device for displaying a readable code generated based on the deposit token, receive a point of sale deposit authorization notification from the merchant device indicating at least receipt by the merchant device of the deposit token from the mobile device, and transfer funds to a financial service account based on the received deposit information and authorization notification.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/797,644, filed Oct. 30, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/472,641, filed Aug. 29, 2014, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/872,150, filed Aug. 30,2013, each of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to systems and methods forproviding a transaction service, and more particularly, systems andmethods for providing point of sale deposits.

BACKGROUND

Some financial service providers are considered “direct banks.” Directbanks typically offer the same types of financial accounts to consumersas typical banks, but without the same physical presence. For example, acustomer may maintain a checking and savings account with a direct bank;however, the customer will have no physical bank location (e.g., branch)to visit in order to conduct transactions. Customers of direct bankstherefore must rely primarily on online (or telephone) services tomanage their financial accounts.

Customers of direct banks may also rely on merchant services to transactwith their direct bank financial service accounts. For example,merchants often offer customers the ability to make point of sale cashwithdrawals along with their merchant transaction. In this way, acustomer may be able to receive “cash back” after making a debit cardpurchase at a retail store. The customer receives cash from the merchantand an amount equal to the received cash is added to the amounteventually transferred to the merchant from the customer's financialaccount to complete the purchase. Because other options for cashwithdrawals are limited, merchant “cash back” services are especiallyconvenient to customers that have a financial account with a directbank.

Cash deposits, however, remain difficult to complete for customers ofdirect banks using current technology and infrastructures associatedwith funds transfers. For example, in order to deposit cash into afinancial account held with a direct bank, a customer may have to firstdeposit the cash into another bank and then transfer the funds to thedesired financial account. This process can be inconvenient and may takeseveral days to complete. There is therefore a need for technologycapable of performing point of sale deposits.

SUMMARY

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, systems, methods, andcomputer-readable media are provided for point of sale deposits.According to one disclosed embodiment, a system for executing a point ofsale deposit is provided. The system may include one or more memorydevices storing software instructions. The system may also include oneor more processors configured to execute the software instructions toreceive deposit information related to a point of sale deposit from amobile device, and generate a deposit token retaining at least thedeposit information and deposit authorization information, the deposittoken generated based on specifications associated with the mobiledevice and a merchant device. The one or more processors may be furtherconfigured to transmit the deposit token to the mobile device fordisplaying, on an I/O device associated with the mobile device, areadable code generated based on the deposit token. The one or moreprocessors may also be configured to receive a point of sale depositauthorization notification from the merchant device indicating at leastreceipt by the merchant device of the deposit token from the mobiledevice, and transfer funds to a financial service account based on thereceived deposit information and authorization notification.

Consistent with another disclosed embodiment, a system for executing apoint of sale deposit may include one or more I/O devices configured tosend and receive data, one or more memory devices storing softwareinstructions, and one or more processors configured to execute thesoftware instructions to receive deposit information related to a pointof sale deposit at the one or more I/O devices, and send the depositinformation to a financial service provider device. The one or moreprocessors may be further configured to receive a deposit tokengenerated by the financial service provider device based on the depositinformation, generate a readable code that contains information from thedeposit token, and display, via the one or more I/O devices, thereadable code for being read by a merchant device.

Consistent with yet another disclosed embodiment, a system for executinga point of sale deposit may include one or more member devices storingsoftware instructions and one or more processors configured to executethe software instructions to initiate a transaction between a customerand a merchant, and receive, from a mobile device, deposit informationrelated to a point of sale deposit, wherein the deposit informationincludes a deposit token generated by a financial service providerdevice. The one or more processors may be further configured to send anauthorization request to the financial service provider device, theauthorization request including the deposit token, receive anotification that the deposit token sent to the financial serviceprovider device corresponds to the deposit token generated by thefinancial service provider device, and complete the transaction afterthe customer transfers cash to the merchant to settle the point of saledeposit.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and,together with the description, serve to explain the disclosedembodiments. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system, consistent withdisclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary server, consistent withdisclosed embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for executing a point ofsale deposit, consistent with disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for initiating a point ofsale deposit, consistent with disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for executing a point ofsale deposit, consistent with disclosed embodiments; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for executing a point ofsale deposit, consistent with disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the disclosed embodiments,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverconvenient, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts.

In one implementation of the disclosed embodiments, a customer may makea deposit into a financial account in combination with anothertransaction with a merchant. For example, a customer may pay cash to amerchant, which may trigger funds being transferred into the customersfinancial account. Disclosed embodiments may include hardware devicesthat process these point of sale deposits, thereby providing customerswith a new option for depositing funds, improving efficiency offinancial account management, and reducing the need for physical serviceprovider locations (e.g., bank branches).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system 100 forperforming one or more operations, consistent with the disclosedembodiments. In one embodiment, system 100 may include a client device110, a merchant device 120, a financial service provider device 130, anda network 140. The components and arrangement of the components includedin system 100 may vary. Thus, system 100 may further include one or moreof the components of system 100 or other components that perform orassist in the performance of one or more processes consistent with thedisclosed embodiments.

Components of system 100 may be computing systems configured to executea point of sale deposit. As further described herein, components ofsystem 100 may include one or more computing devices (e.g., computer(s),server(s), embedded systems, etc.), memory storing data and/or softwareinstructions (e.g., database(s), memory devices, etc.), etc. In someembodiments, the one or more computing devices are configured to executesoftware instructions stored on one or more memory devices to performone or more operations consistent with the disclosed embodiments.Components of system 100 may be configured to communicate with one ormore other components of system 100, including client device 110,merchant device 120, and financial service provider device 130. Incertain aspects, users may operate one or more components of system 100to initiate one or more operations consistent with the disclosedembodiments. For example, client device 110 may be operated by a user112. User 112 may be an owner/operator of client device 110, such as acustomer. In other aspects, the one or more users may be employees of,or associated with, the entity corresponding to the respectivecomponent(s) (e.g., someone authorized to use the underlying computingsystems or otherwise act on behalf of the entity). For example, merchantdevice 120 may be operated by a user 122. User 122 may be an employee ofa merchant associated with merchant device 120, such as a retail storeemployee. In other aspects, the one or more users may not be an employeeor otherwise associated with the underlying entity. In some aspects, theone or more users may be an entity associated with the respectivecomponent.

Client device 110 may be one or more computing devices that areconfigured to execute software instructions for performing one or moreoperations consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In one example,client device 110 may be a mobile device (e.g., tablet, smartphone,etc.), a desktop computer, a laptop, a server, a wearable screen orheadset, and/or a dedicated hardware device. Client device 110 mayinclude one or more processors configured to execute softwareinstructions stored in memory, such as memory included in client device110. Client device 110 may include software that, when executed by aprocessor, performs known Internet-related communication and contentdisplay processes. For instance, client device 110 may execute browsersoftware that generates and displays interface screens including contenton a display device included in, or connected to, client device 110. Thedisclosed embodiments are not limited to any particular configuration ofclient device 110. For instance, client device 110 may be a mobiledevice that stores and executes mobile applications that providefinancial-service-related functions offered by a financial serviceprovider, such as an application associated with one or more financialaccounts that a customer holds with financial service provider.

In one embodiment, a user 112 may use client device 110 to perform oneor more operations consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In oneaspect, user 112 may be a customer or potential customer of a merchantassociated with merchant device 120. For instance, user 112 may transactwith merchant device 120. In another aspect, user 112 may be a customerof the financial service provider associated with financial serviceprovider device 130. For instance, the financial service provider maymaintain a financial service account (e.g., checking account) for user112.

Merchant device 120 may be associated with a merchant, such as one ormore providers of goods and/or services, such as a retailer, etc.Merchant device 120 may include one or more computing systems that areconfigured to perform computer-implemented processes, such as a server,desktop, laptop, mobile device, embedded system or other dedicatedhardware, etc. Further, merchant device 120 may include one or morecomputing devices configured to process and handle purchase transactionsat a physical location of the associated merchant, such as point of saleterminals, local servers, kiosks, barcode scanners, etc., at a retailerlocation. Merchant device 120 may be configured to perform financialtransaction processes, such as receiving, processing, and handlingpurchase transactions, payment processes, etc. associated with the saleof goods and/or services provided by the associated merchant. In someaspects, merchant device 120 may include computing devices that mayinclude back and/or front-end computing components that store consumertransaction data and execute software instructions to perform operationsconsistent with the disclosed embodiments, such as computers that areoperated by employees of the associated merchant (e.g., back-officesystems, etc.).

In certain aspects, a customer associated with client device 110 (e.g.,user 112) may purchase goods and/or services from a merchant associatedwith merchant device 120. In some instances, the customer may use afinancial account provided by a financial service provider to pay forthe goods and/or services. In other instances, the customer may useanother payment method, such as cash.

Financial service provider device 130 may be associated with a financialservice provider. The financial service provider may be a bank, creditunion, credit card issuer, or other type of financial service entitythat generates, provides, manages, and/or maintains financial serviceaccounts for one or more users (e.g., user 112). Financial serviceaccounts may include, for example, checking accounts, savings accounts,credit card accounts, loan accounts, rewards accounts, and any othertypes of financial service account known to those skilled in the art.Financial service accounts may be associated with electronic accounts,such as a digital wallet or similar account that may be used to performelectronic transactions, such as purchasing goods and/or servicesonline. Financial service accounts may also be associated with physicalfinancial service account cards, such as a debit or credit card that auser may carry on their person and use to perform financial servicetransactions, such as purchasing goods and/or services at a point ofsale terminal (i.e., merchant device 120).

The financial service provider may include infrastructure and componentsthat are configured to and provide financial service accounts andfinancial service account cards (e.g., debit cards, credit cards, etc.).The financial service provider may also include infrastructures andcomponents that are configured to manage transactions associated with acustomer financial service account. In certain aspects, financialservice provider device 130 may include one or more computing devicesconfigured to communicate with client device 110 and merchant device 120to via network 140 to execute processing steps associated with a pointof sale deposit. For example, financial service provider device 130 mayinclude one or more computing devices configured to generate deposittokens, authorize transactions, and settle accounts, as will bedescribed in more detail below.

In certain aspects, the financial service provider associated withfinancial service provider device 130 may be (or include a servicecorresponding to that of) a direct bank. The direct bank may maintainfinancial service accounts with customers, such as checking and savingsaccounts, in a manner known in the art. The direct bank, however, maynot include physical branch locations at which the customers may maketransactions, such as financial deposits or withdrawals, typicallyassociated with a bank or similar financial service provider. In otherwords, management of financial service accounts may take place remotely,such as via network 140.

Network 140 may be any type of network configured to providecommunications between components of system 100. For example, network140 may be any type of network (including infrastructure) that providescommunications, exchanges information, and/or facilitates the exchangeof information, such as the Internet, a Local Area Network, or othersuitable connection(s) that enables the sending and receiving ofinformation between the components of system 100. In other embodiments,one or more components of system 100 may communicate directly through adedicated communication link(s) (not shown), such as a link betweenclient device 110 and merchant device 120.

It is to be understood that the configuration and boundaries of thefunctional building blocks of system 100 has been defined herein for theconvenience of the description. Alternative boundaries can be defined solong as the specified functions and relationships thereof areappropriately performed. Alternatives (including equivalents,extensions, variations, deviations, etc., of those described herein)will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on theteachings contained herein. For example, merchant device 120 may includefinancial service provider device 130 for performing operationsassociated with a private label financial account provided by a merchantassociated with merchant device 120. Such alternatives fall within thescope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary server 211 for implementing embodimentsconsistent with the present disclosure. Variations of server 211 may beused by client device 110, merchant device 120, and/or financial serviceprovider device 130.

In one embodiment, server 211 may include one or more processors 221,one or more memories 223, and one or more input/output (I/O) devices222. According to some embodiments, server 211 may an embedded system orsimilar computing devices that generate, maintain, and provide website(s) consistent with disclosed embodiments. Server 211 may bestandalone, or it may be part of a subsystem, which may be part of alarger system. For example, server 211 may represent distributed serversthat are remotely located and communicate over a network (e.g., network140) or a dedicated network, such as a LAN. Server 211 may correspond toany of client device 110, merchant device 120, and financial serviceprovider device 130.

Processor 221 may include one or more known processing devices, such asa microprocessor from the Pentium™ or Xeon™ family manufactured byIntel™, the Turion™ family manufactured by AMD™, or any of variousprocessors manufactured by Sun Microsystems. The disclosed embodimentsare not limited to any type of processor(s) configured in server 211.

Memory 223 may include one or more storage devices configured to storeinstructions used by processor 221 to perform functions related todisclosed embodiments. For example, memory 223 may be configured withone or more software instructions, such as program(s) 224 that mayperform one or more operations when executed by processor 221. Thedisclosed embodiments are not limited to separate programs or computersconfigured to perform dedicated tasks. For example, memory 223 mayinclude a single program 224 that performs the functions of the server211, or program 224 could comprise multiple programs. Additionally,processor 221 may execute one or more programs located remotely fromserver 211. For example, client device 110, merchant device 120, and/orfinancial service provider device 130, may, via server 211, access oneor more remote programs that, when executed, perform functions relatedto certain disclosed embodiments. Memory 223 may also store data 225that may reflect any type of information in any format that the systemmay use to perform operations consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

I/O devices 222 may be one or more devices configured to allow data tobe received and/or transmitted by server 211. I/O devices 222 mayinclude one or more digital and/or analog communication devices thatallow server 211 to communicate with other machines and devices, such asother components of system 100.

Server 211 may also be communicatively connected to one or moredatabase(s) 226. Server 211 may be communicatively connected todatabase(s) 226 through network 140. Database 226 may include one ormore memory devices that store information and are accessed and/ormanaged through server 211. By way of example, database(s) 226 mayinclude Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relationaldatabases or non-relational databases, such as Hadoop sequence files,HBase, or Cassandra. The databases or other files may include, forexample, data and information related to the source and destination of anetwork request, the data contained in the request, etc. Systems andmethods of disclosed embodiments, however, are not limited to separatedatabases. In one aspect, system 200 may include database 226.Alternatively, database 226 may be located remotely from the system 200.Database 226 may include computing components (e.g., database managementsystem, database server, etc.) configured to receive and processrequests for data stored in memory devices of database(s) 226 and toprovide data from database 226.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 300 for executing a pointof sale deposit, consistent with disclosed embodiments. In some aspects,process 300 may take place in the context of a transaction between acustomer associated with client device 110 (e.g., user 112) and amerchant associated with merchant device 120. For example, user 112 maybe a customer that makes a purchase at a merchant associated withmerchant device 120. User 122 may be an employee of the associatedmerchant that operates merchant device 120 (e.g., a point of saledevice) to execute the transaction with user 112. User 112 maysupplement the purchase transaction with a point of sale deposittransaction, which may take place via process 300.

Process 300 may include client device 110 initiating a deposittransaction (step 310). For example, user 112 may operate client device110 to initiate the deposit transaction. Client device 110 may be amobile device (e.g., a smart phone), and user 112 may operate the mobiledevice to execute software instructions (e.g., a mobile application) toinitiate the deposit transaction. Client device 110 may send informationassociated with the initiated deposit transaction to financial serviceprovider device 130 (step 320). In some aspects, initiation of thedeposit transaction and transmission of the deposit transactioninformation to financial service provider device 130 may occur at anytime before or during the transaction process between user 112 and themerchant associated with merchant device 120.

Financial service provider device 130 may receive and process theinformation sent by client device 110 related to the initiated deposittransaction (step 330). After processing the information, financialservice provider device 130 may operate in conjunction with clientdevice 110 to transmit the deposit transaction information to merchantdevice 120. Subsequently, merchant device 120 may receive the deposittransaction information (step 340). In some embodiments, merchant device120 may use the received deposit transaction information to add thedeposit transaction to the purchase transaction. In some aspects, thedeposit transaction may be added by the merchant device as a customerdebit (i.e., the customer owes the merchant the deposit amount to settlethe transaction). Alternatively, the deposit transaction may be added bythe merchant device as a customer credit (i.e., the merchant owes thedeposit amount to the customer). In other embodiments, the deposittransaction may be the only transaction that takes place between user112 and merchant device 120.

Merchant device 120 and financial service provider device 130 may workin conjunction to authorize the deposit transaction (step 350). Forexample, merchant device 120 and financial service provider device 130may communicate with each other via network 140 to authorize the deposittransaction or otherwise ensure that the deposit transaction is secureand not fraudulent, as further discussed below.

Merchant device 120 may also complete the deposit transaction and anyother concurrent transaction (e.g., purchase transaction) (step 360). Insome aspects, user 112 may pay the merchant to settle the amount owedfor the transaction(s). For example, user 112 may (in addition to payingfor any goods or services transactions) provide cash to the merchant inan amount equal to the amount being deposited through the deposittransaction. In other embodiments, user 112 may use another paymentmethod involving, for example, a financial account product (i.e., creditcard, debit card, mobile wallet, etc.) to settle the transaction(s).Merchant device 120 may notify financial service provider device 130that the deposit transaction has been completed (e.g., funds paid to themerchant), which may complete authorization and signal financial serviceprovider device 130 to transfer funds to the customer's financialaccount. Financial service provider device 130 may notify the customerthat the deposit transaction was successfully completed.

After the transaction between the customer and merchant has beencompleted, the merchant and financial service provider may complete thetransaction by settling the amount owed to either entity (step 370). Forexample, the merchant may transfer to the financial service provider anamount equal to the deposited amount. The amount may be transferred in amanner known in the art, such as through an automated clearing house. Inthis way, process 300 may allow a user 112 to deposit cash into afinancial service account with a financial service provider through adeposit transaction with a merchant.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 400 by which client device110 may initiate, and/or be used to initiate, a point of sale deposit.User 112 may initiate a point of sale deposit at any time before orduring a corresponding transaction with a merchant (e.g., a merchantassociated with merchant device 120). For example, a user 112 mayinitiate a purchase transaction with a merchant and concurrently decideto initiate a deposit transaction with the same merchant. In otherwords, user 112 may transact with a merchant to purchase an item andmake a deposit into a financial service account (e.g., a checkingaccount).

To initiate the deposit transaction, client device 110 may receiveinformation about the deposit (step 410). The deposit information mayinclude details about the financial service account in which the depositwill be made, such as the financial service provider that maintains thefinancial service account and account identifiers (e.g., account name,type, number, etc.), details about the deposit itself, such as theamount of the deposit, a customer identifier (e.g., customer name,identification number, etc.) and details about the merchant at which thedeposit transaction will take place, such as merchant name, location,and/or other merchant identifiers (e.g., store number). According tosome embodiments, client device 110 may receive information about thedeposit from data stored on a financial account product via, forexample, card swipe, card insertion, near field communication, etc.

Client device 110 may receive deposit information as data input by user112. For example, user 112 may use an I/O device and/or a user interfaceassociated with client device 110 to enter deposit information. In someembodiments, client device 110 may be a mobile device configured toexecute software instructions to run a mobile application. The mobileapplication may be associated with the financial service provider thatmaintains the financial service account that will receive funds as aresult of the deposit transaction. In certain embodiments, the mobileapplication may be associated with a direct bank. User 112 may operateclient device 110 to execute software instructions to run the mobileapplication. The mobile application may be executed to display aninteractive user interface with which user 112 may direct client device110 to initiate the deposit transaction and prompt user 112 for depositinformation. User 112 may enter deposit information, such as byselecting a financial service account to receive the deposited funds andentering the amount to be deposited. Some deposit information, such asfinancial service provider and other financial service account detailsmay be automatically associated with the initiated deposit, such as viasoftware instructions associated with the mobile application.

User 112 may also input to client device 110 information related to themerchant at which the deposit will be occur. For example, user 112 maybe prompted to enter details about the merchant through a user interfaceassociated with client device 110 and the mobile application. In otherembodiments, the merchant information may be automatically acquired byclient device 110, such as through a GPS location function. Clientdevice 110 may include a GPS device configured to acquire currentlatitude and longitude of client device 110. For example, client device110 may include a GPS device that provides geographic locationinformation (not shown). In some embodiments, the GPS device may be aseparate device communicatively connected to client device 110. Forexample, the GPS device may communicate with a GPS satellite navigationsystem that is used to determine the precise location of client device110. The GPS device may decode time signal transmissions received frommultiple satellites to determine the position of client device 110using, for example, trilateration techniques performed by a processorexecuting software stored on a memory device within the GPS device.Client device 110, therefore, may calculate and transmit geographicposition information (e.g., location coordinates) associated with clientdevice 110.

In some embodiments, determined location coordinates associated withclient device 110 may be stored as deposit information or additionalprocesses may be executed by client device 110 to determine a merchantassociated with the determined coordinates. For example, client device110 may execute a software process to determine a specific merchant froma database of possible merchants that is located at the determinedlocation coordinates. The determined merchant and any associatedinformation may be stored, marked, and/or labeled as depositinformation.

After the deposit information has been received by client device 110,client device 110 may send the received deposit information to financialservice provider device 130 (step 420). For example, client device 110may execute software instructions to send the received depositinformation to financial service provider device 130 via network 140. Inthe embodiment in which client device 110 is a mobile device, network140 may include a mobile network (i.e., a cellular data network).Financial service provider device 130 may be a computing device (e.g., aserver) configured to receive and process (or forward the information toanother computing device for processing) the deposit information.

As will be described in more detail below, financial service providerdevice 130 may execute a process to generate a deposit token associatedwith the deposit transaction. In process 400, client device 110 may beconfigured to receive the generated deposit token (step 430). Forexample, financial service provider device 130 may send the generateddeposit token via network 140, which may be received by client device110. The generated deposit token may be a representation of the deposittransaction, such as a unique alphanumeric identifier associated withthe deposit information.

Client device 110 may execute software instructions to process thereceived deposit token such that the deposit token may be transmitted tomerchant device 120. In some embodiments, client device 110 may processthe deposit token to generate a deposit code (step 440). The depositcode may be any type of representation of data that is in a formconvenient for use with merchant device 120, such as a readable code.For example, the deposit code may be a barcode that is configured to bedisplayed by a display device associated with client device 110. In theembodiment in which client device 110 is a mobile device, the barcodemay be displayed on a mobile device screen. The barcode may be encodedwith the deposit information (e.g., the deposit token). As will bedescribed in more detail below, merchant device 120 may read the depositcode (e.g., scan the barcode with a barcode scanner) such that therequisite deposit information may be transmitted to merchant device 120.

According to the steps of process 400, client device 110 may initiate apoint of sale deposit transaction. Process 400 includes steps thatinitiate the deposit transaction with financial service provider device130 (e.g., step 420) and arrange for the deposit transaction to beinitiated with merchant device 120 (e.g., step 440). In this way,additional processes may be executed to carry out and complete thedeposit transaction. In some embodiments, client device 120 maysubsequently receive a notification that the deposit transaction iscompleted (step 450).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 500 by which merchantdevice 120 may execute, and/or be used to execute, a point of saledeposit transaction. In certain aspects, merchant device 120 may executesoftware instructions to carry out some or all of the steps of process500. As described above with respect to process 400, process 500 may beexecuted in the context of a financial transaction between a customer(e.g., user 112) and a merchant (e.g., the merchant associated withmerchant device 120).

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, a transaction may be initiatedwith merchant device 120 (step 510). The initiated transaction mayinclude a deposit transaction, such as the deposit transaction describedabove with respect to process 400. The deposit transaction may be a partof, supplemental to, or take place individually from another transactionbetween the merchant and the customer. For example, the deposittransaction may be a part of a purchase transaction between a customerand a retailer merchant. In these exemplary embodiments, the purchasetransaction may be initiated with merchant device 120 in a typicalmanner known in the art. For example, merchant device 120 may be a pointof sale register with a barcode scanner and user 122 (e.g., a merchantemployee) may scan a barcode associated with the item to be purchased bythe customer with the barcode scanner. Merchant device 120 may executesoftware instructions to decode the barcode to, among other things,identify an amount owed by the customer to the merchant for the item. Inthis way, the transaction may be initiated with merchant device 120.

It should be understood that, in some embodiments, the transactionbetween the customer and the merchant may consist only of a point ofsale deposit transaction. In these embodiments, step 510 may includeother steps to initiate the transaction, such as receiving data inputfrom user 122 to signal that a deposit transaction is being initiated.In other embodiments, step 510 may not be included in process 500, andstep 520, described in more detail below, may initiate the deposittransaction with merchant device 120.

Process 500 may further include merchant device 120 receiving deposittransaction information (step 520). The deposit transaction informationmay include information from client device 110 and/or financial serviceprovider device 130. For example, in the embodiment in which clientdevice 110 is a mobile device that generates a barcode from a deposittoken received from financial service provider device 130 (e.g., step440 of process 400), merchant device 120 may receive deposit informationby decoding the information encoded by the barcode. For example, user122 may use a barcode scanner to scan a barcode generated and displayedby client device 110. Merchant device 120 may execute softwareinstructions to extract the deposit information from the encodedinformation. In this way, merchant device 120 may store and/or processthe deposit information to continue process 500.

While a barcode has been described in the above exemplary embodiment, itshould be understood that any method or means of relaying encodeddeposit information may be used (e.g., QR code, word or picturerecognition software, etc.). In other embodiments, merchant device 120may receive deposit information in a manner other than through areadable medium. For example, instead of a barcode, client device maygenerate an alphanumeric code as the deposit code. User 122 may enterthe alphanumeric code to merchant device 120, such as through an I/Odevice and/or a user interface. Merchant device 120 may be programmedwith software instructions (e.g., a software application) configured toprocess the alphanumeric code to determine the deposit transactioninformation associated with that particular alphanumeric code. In stillother embodiments, communication signals between client device andmerchant device 120 may be used, such as wireless signals, Bluetooth,etc.

In some embodiments, merchant device 120 may receive deposit informationfrom a source other than client device 110. In some aspects, the depositinformation received from a source other than client device 110 mayinclude information in addition to information from client device 110.For example, user 112 may inform user 122 that they wish to initiate adeposit transaction. User 122 may input information through an I/Odevice and/or a user interface, such as an amount that will be depositedthrough the deposit transaction. In other embodiments, merchant device120 may receive the deposit information from user 112. User 112 mayenter deposit information into an I/O device and/or user interfaceassociated with merchant device 120. User 112 may enter the depositinformation manually (e.g., entering an amount via a keypad) and/orautomatically (e.g., swiping a debit card to transmit financial serviceaccount information). In any instance, merchant device 120 may storeand/or process the received deposit information to continue process 500.

Merchant device 120 may also seek to authorize the deposit transactionwith the financial service provider (step 530). For example, merchantdevice 120 may send an authorization request to financial serviceprovider device 130. Merchant device 120 may send the authorizationrequest via network 140. In some embodiments, the authorization requestmay include transmitting the deposit token to financial service providerdevice 130.

As will be described in more detail below, financial service providerdevice 130 may receive the authorization request and make adetermination based on the information in the request and otherinformation about the deposit transaction (e.g., information receivedfrom client device 110) regarding whether the deposit transaction isauthorized to continue. In other embodiments, merchant device 120 mayattempt to authorize the deposit transaction by prompting user 112 oruser 122 to enter additional information. For example, merchant device120 may request that user 112 swipe a debit card associated with thefinancial service account to which funds are to be deposited.

Merchant device 120 may also determine whether the deposit transactionhas been authorized (step 540). For example, merchant device 120 mayreceive a notification from financial service provider device 130 withinformation related to the result of the authorization determination. Insome embodiments, the notification may include deposit information(e.g., deposit amount and a customer identifier, such as the customer'sfirst name). In addition, the notification may include a verificationcode. The verification code may be a unique identifier (e.g.,alphanumeric code) generated by financial service provider device 130and related to the deposit transaction.

In other embodiments, merchant device 120 may determine authorizationthrough information received from user 112 and/or user 122. For example,merchant device 120 may execute software instructions to processinformation from a debit card swiped by user 112 to determine if thedeposit transaction is authorized (e.g., deposit information receivedfrom client device 110 matches information obtained from the debitcard). In these exemplary embodiments, process 500 may include anadditional step of sending a notification to financial service providerdevice 130 that the deposit transaction was authorized.

If merchant device 120 receives authorization to continue the deposittransaction, merchant device 120 may add the deposit transaction andcomplete the overall transaction with the customer (step 550). Forexample, merchant device 120 may add the amount of the deposit(extracted from deposit information) to an amount owed to the merchantassociated with merchant device 120. In the embodiment in which thedeposit transaction is part of an overall transaction that includes apurchase transaction, the amount of the deposit may be added to theamount of the purchase(s) to determine a total amount that is owed tothe merchant by the customer (e.g., user 112).

Merchant device 120 may receive information indicating that the customerhas paid the amount owed to the merchant. For example, the customer(e.g., user 112) may pay cash to the merchant and user 122 may enter theamount paid by the customer to merchant device 120. Merchant device 120may subsequently transmit a notification to financial service providerdevice 130 notifying the financial service provider that the customerhas transferred the funds (e.g., cash) to the merchant for the deposittransaction (step 560). The notification may include, for example, thedeposit token and the verification code, which may allow financialservice provider device 130 to complete authorization of thetransaction.

Merchant device 120 may execute additional software instructions tocomplete the transaction, which may include producing a receipt. Afterprocess 500 is finished, the transaction between the customer andmerchant may be completed and the funds previously held by the customermay be available or eventually become available (such as aftersettlement between the merchant and financial service provider) as fundsdeposited into the financial service account.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 600 by which financialservice provider device 130 may execute a point of sale deposit. Process600 includes steps that, when executed in conjunction with some or allof the steps of processes 400 and 500 described above, complete a pointof sale deposit by a customer associated with client device 110 with amerchant associated with merchant device 120.

Process 600 includes financial service provider device 130 receiving arequest to initiate a deposit transaction and/or deposit information(step 610). Step 610 may correspond to step 420 of process 400, in thatfinancial service provider device 130 may receive deposit informationsent from client device 110. Financial service provider device 130 mayuse the received deposit information to initiate the deposittransaction. For example, financial service provider device 130 may be acomputing device (e.g., an embedded system or other dedicated hardware)configured to execute software instructions to read and/or decode thereceived deposit information and associate the deposit transaction witha customer profile. For example, financial service provider device maydetermine the customer and financial service account to which funds areto be deposited, such as by searching a customer profile database tomatch received identifiers (e.g., account number).

Financial service provider device 130 may also process the depositinformation to generate a deposit token (step 620). For example,financial service provider device 130 may include a computing deviceconfigured to execute software instructions to run an applicationprogramming interface (API) to generate the deposit token. As describedabove, in some embodiments, the deposit token may be a uniquealphanumeric identifier associated with the deposit information. Thedeposit information associated with the generated deposit token may bestored by financial service provider device 130, such as in a system ofrecord. In other embodiments, the deposit token may additionally oralternatively include encoded deposit information received from clientdevice 110 (e.g., deposit amount, customer information, and/or merchantinformation) and/or additional information from the financial serviceprovider. After the deposit token is generated, financial serviceprovider device 130 may transmit the deposit token to client device 110(step 630), such as for use in processes 400 and 500.

In addition to generating the deposit token, financial service providerdevice 130 may continue processing of the initiated deposit transactionby creating a pending transaction. Financial service provider device 130may create a wash account that contains an amount equal to the depositamount (step 640). In some aspects, the wash account may be anintermediary financial account or other temporary placeholder for thefunds to be deposited into the customer's financial service account.Financial service provider device 130 may wait for additionalinformation before continuing processing of the deposit transaction.

Financial service provider device 130 may receive the above-mentionedadditional information in the form of an authorization request frommerchant device 120 (step 650). Step 650 may correspond to step 530 ofexemplary process 500. For example, merchant device 120 may seek toauthorize the deposit transaction by sending the authorization requestwith deposit information (e.g., the deposit token and wash accountdetails) through network 140. In some aspects, the authorization requestmay be a notification sent and received through existing paymentchannels between the merchant and financial service provider. Forexample, the request may be sent and received via credit/debit cardprocessing protocols, with the deposit information encoded into thecommunication, such as in a discretionary data field. In someembodiments, authorization requests sent between merchant device 120 andfinancial service provider device 130 may include processing through anAPI. In any instance, financial service provider device 130 may processthe received authorization request to determine if the deposittransaction should be authorized (step 660). For example, financialservice provider device 130 may determine if the received depositinformation (from merchant device 120) matches the deposit informationassociated with the pending transaction (e.g., received deposit tokenmatched generated deposit token). In addition, financial service device130 may determine a merchant associated with merchant device 120 andattempt to match the determined merchant to a merchant associated with amerchant location received from client device 110. If the merchantsmatch, the deposit transaction may be authorized.

If the deposit transaction is not authorized (step 660; NO), process 600may stop (step 670). In some embodiments, financial service providerdevice 130 may leave the deposit transaction pending to await anotherauthorization request. If, after a certain period of time, anotherrequest is not received, the pending deposit transaction may expire.

If the deposit transaction is authorized (step 660; YES), financialservice provider device 130 may authorize the transaction with merchantdevice 120 (step 675). For example, financial service provider device130 may transmit a notification to merchant device 120. As describedabove with respect to step 540 of process 500, the notification mayinclude deposit information and a verification code. After transmittingthe notification, financial service provider device 130 may receive anotification in return from merchant device 120. The notification frommerchant device 120 may include the deposit token and the verificationcode, for example, which may inform the financial service provider thatthe customer has transferred funds (e.g., cash) in the amount of thedeposit to the merchant.

Receipt of the return notification from merchant device 120 may completeauthorization of the deposit transaction. With the transactionauthorized, financial service provider device 130 may transfer the fundsin the wash account to the chosen customer financial service account(step 680). In this way the wash account may be “settled,” and thedeposited funds may become available to the customer in the receivingaccount. Financial service provider device 130 may complete the deposittransaction by marking the pending transaction as complete and notifyingthe customer that the transaction is complete (step 690). In someembodiments, financial service provider device 130 may transmit amessage (e.g., sms text message, push notification, email) to clientdevice 110 to notify the customer.

Additional processes may occur between financial service provider andthe merchant to settle the amount owed to either entity. For example,the financial service provider may receive funds from the merchant tosettle the amount of the deposit that was given to the merchant by thecustomer. Settlement may occur in a manner known in the art, such asthrough an automated clearing house. Either or both of merchant device120 and financial service provider device 130 may execute steps thatlead to settlement. If any of the steps of the above-described processesfail (e.g., network outage, hardware failure, fraud detection, etc.),the process(es) may be stopped. If the deposit transaction is alreadypending at the point of stoppage, the deposit transaction may remainpending and wait for the respective process to complete. If, after acertain period of time, the deposit transaction process fails tocontinue or complete, the pending transaction may expire and the depositcancelled.

In addition, it should be understood that other entities, such as themerchant's financial service provider, payment processors, etc., mayinclude devices that execute one or more of the steps of the processesdescribed herein.

Further, it should be understood that any of client device 110, merchantdevice 120, and financial service provider device 130, while representedas a single device, may be multiple devices that work individually or inconcert to execute the steps of the processes described herein. Forexample, financial service provider device may include a computingdevice that includes the API that generates and transmits the deposittoken and a separate computing device that authorizes the deposittransaction and settles the wash account. Other arrangements andconfigurations of devices may be possible.

Using the above-described processes, a customer of a financial serviceprovider may execute a point of sale deposit in the form of a mobilecash deposit. The deposit transaction may be used to deposit funds(e.g., cash) to a financial service account using client device 110 incoordination with a merchant device 120. In this way, the disclosedsystems may provide more efficient deposit transactions, allowingcustomers to make deposits while also completing other transactions.

In certain aspects, the disclosed embodiments provide incentives formerchants to work with financial service providers to present point ofsale deposits to customers. For example, a merchant may partner with afinancial service provider to offer point of sale deposits at theirmerchant locations.

While the above processes have been described with regard to point ofsale deposits at merchants, it should be understood that similarprocesses may be used for other financial transactions. For example,consistent with disclosed embodiments, system 100 may be used to makebill payments in cash. In this example, all process steps may be thesame or similar as described above, however, instead of transferringfunds from the wash account to a financial service account associatedwith the user, financial service provider device 130 may transfer thefunds to a third-party to pay the bill.

Other alternatives may include replacing merchant device 120 withanother device, such as a bank branch device located on or near themerchant's premises. The bank branch device may be associated with afinancial service provider (which may not be the same financial serviceprovider with which the customer has a financial service account). Inthis way, the customer may make a deposit into their financial serviceaccount at a bank branch (even though the bank branch may not be theirfinancial service provider).

In another example, merchant device 120 may be an ATM machine. The ATMmachine may be configured to operate in substantially the same manner asmerchant device 120. For instance, the ATM machine may be capable ofreading a barcode generated by client device 110, authorizing thedeposit transaction with financial service provider device 130, andreceiving the cash to complete the transaction.

The exemplary disclosed embodiments describe systems and methods forpoint of sale deposits at merchant locations. The foregoing descriptionhas been presented for purposes of illustration. It is not exhaustiveand is not limited to the precise forms or embodiments disclosed.Modifications and adaptations of the embodiments will be apparent fromconsideration of the specification and practice of the disclosedembodiments. For example, the described implementations include hardwareand software, but systems and methods consistent with the presentdisclosure can be implemented as hardware alone.

Computer programs based on the written description and methods of thisspecification are within the skill of a software developer. The variousprograms or program modules can be created using a variety ofprogramming techniques. For example, program sections or program modulescan be designed in or by means of Java, C, C++, assembly language, orany such programming languages. One or more of such software sections ormodules can be integrated into a computer system, computer-readablemedia, or existing communications software.

Moreover, while illustrative embodiments have been described herein, thescope includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements,modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across variousembodiments), adaptations or alterations based on the presentdisclosure. The elements in the claims are to be interpreted broadlybased on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examplesdescribed in the present specification or during the prosecution of theapplication, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive.Further, the steps of the disclosed methods can be modified in anymanner, including by reordering steps or inserting or deleting steps. Itis intended, therefore, that the specification and examples beconsidered as example only, with a true scope and spirit being indicatedby the following claims and their full scope of equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for executing a point-of-sale deposit,comprising: receiving, from a mobile device associated with a customer,point-of-sale deposit information; encoding the point-of-sale depositinformation according to specifications associated with (i) the mobiledevice and (ii) a merchant device associated with a merchant;transmitting the encoded point-of-sale deposit information to the mobiledevice for transmission to the merchant device; receiving, from themerchant device, a completion notification indicating that (i) themerchant device received the encoded point-of-sale deposit informationfrom the mobile device and (ii) the merchant received funds for depositfrom the customer at a point of sale; and transferring funds to thefinancial service account held by the customer based on thepoint-of-sale deposit information and the completion notification. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the point-of-sale deposit informationincludes at least one of an amount to be deposited, an accountidentifier, or a customer identifier.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising creating a pending deposit transaction based on thepoint-of-sale deposit information by generating a wash accountcontaining an amount based on the amount to be deposited.
 4. The methodof claim 2, wherein the point-of-sale deposit information includesmerchant information identifying the merchant.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the merchant information includes a merchant location determinedby the mobile device.
 6. The method of claim 4, further comprisingauthorizing completion of the point-of-sale deposit based at least inpart on the merchant information.
 7. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising authorizing completion of the point-of-sale deposit based atleast in part on a comparison of (i) a known location of the merchantand (ii) the merchant location determined by the mobile device.
 8. Themethod of claim 6, wherein authorizing completion of the point-of-saledeposit includes confirming the merchant information corresponds to amerchant identified based at least in part on an authorization request.9. The method of claim 7, wherein authorizing completion of thepoint-of-sale deposit includes transmitting an authorizationnotification to the merchant device.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving an indication that a financial provider systemassociated with the financial service account received funds from themerchant for settling the point-of-sale transaction.
 11. A method forexecuting a point-of-sale deposit on a mobile device, comprising:receiving point-of-sale deposit information including an amount to bedeposited; transmitting the point-of-sale deposit information to afinancial service provider device; receiving, from the financial serviceprovider device, encoded point-of-sale deposit information; generating,based on the encoded point-of-sale deposit information, a readable codefor transmitting the encoded point-of-sale deposit information to amerchant; and displaying the readable code.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the mobile device includes a mobile application for executingthe method.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the readable codecontains the encoded point-of-sale deposit information.
 14. The methodof claim 13, wherein the code is a scannable code.
 15. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the point-of-sale deposit information includes atleast one of an account identifier or a customer identifier.
 16. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the point-of-sale deposit informationincludes merchant information identifying a merchant.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the merchant information includes a merchant locationdetermined by the mobile device.
 18. A method for executing apoint-of-sale deposit, comprising: receiving, from a mobile deviceassociated with a customer, point-of-sale deposit information encoded bya financial service provider device; transmitting the encodedpoint-of-sale deposit information to the financial service provider forauthorization; receiving a notification from the financial serviceprovider that the encoded point-of-sale deposit information transmittedto the financial service provider device is the same as thepoint-of-sale deposit information encoded by the financial serviceprovider device; and completing the point-of-sale deposit based on atransfer of funds.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving thepoint-of-sale deposit information comprises scanning a code displayed bythe mobile device.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the point-of-saledeposit is executed on a point-of-sale device.